entrust · request

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 嘱 means requesting or entrusting; its on-reading is しょく.
• Basic usage: 委嘱, read いしょく, means an appointment or commission; 嘱望, read しょくぼう, means high expectations.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Assigning a role and expecting a bright future
  • 調査委員に委嘱した means that someone appointed a person to an investigation committee. It concerns assigning a specific role to an expert.
  • 将来を嘱望された若手 describes a young talent of whom great things were expected. 嘱望 expresses expectations and does not itself mean that a role was assigned.